UK Parliament Votes to Delay Brexit Deal, Now What? 

Heading into the weekend, overnight implied volatility behind the Cable and other Pound crosses had charged to their highest level in over two years. That reflected well the fundamental weight represented by the first Saturday sitting in the Commons in 37 years. Parliament convened to debate the government’s withdrawal agreement bill which Prime Minister Boris Johnson managed to hash out with European negotiators during the EU leaders summit. The compromise came at the last possible moment as the law passed by MPs before their proroguing required Johnson had a deal in hand by October 18th or he would be required to send a letter to European officials requesting an extension for negotiations to avoid a no deal outcome. It was telling that the progress towards avoiding a hard Brexit scenario to this point had seen GBPUSD charge its biggest 7-day rally in decades yet anticipated volatility had soared in tandem. That speaks to the level of speculation going on and the very convoluted situation with which we are dealing. 
 
Ultimately, Saturday’s vote would confound the momentum that had built towards a tangible deal and in turn trip up the speculative charge that had gained such remarkable purchase these past few weeks. The MPs voted 322 to 306 on the so-called Letwin amendment which would withhold approval of the deal until legislation was in place. That would in turn trigger the ‘Benn Act’ which required to the PM to send a letter requesting an extension from the October 31st deadline out to January 31st. The government did this begrudgingly along with a second letter in which Jonson made clear he believed a delay would be a mistake. The impact that this has on the market is inevitability convoluted as the array of scenarios for the ongoing negotiations is itself complicated with options. Though the deal was not pushed through, the effort to delay is principally based on an effort to push back a no-deal outcome in a bid to permanently prevent it from ever coming to pass. Nevertheless, the intensity of the recent charge is compounding speculative appetite that will likely be frustrated by this turn of events. A swift retreat that could then turn to contemplative balance. It is possible that the EU could reject the request to push back the decision date which would send a shock of panic through both the Sterling and capital markets, but that is a low probability. 

Granting the UK an extension that only lasts a few weeks rather than three months would leave very little time to accomplish anything other than an approval of the offered withdrawal agreement or risk reviving the no-deal scenario. Some European leaders want to know what will be the point of offering an extension – coming to agreement on the given deal, general election or perhaps referendum. The pressure will remain in all of these scenarios, but the intensity will be greater depending on the immediacy of the scenario. Meanwhile, the government officials (the Foreign Minister) have stated their belief that they have the necessary numbers to push the current deal through Parliament. It has been suggested they will call for a ‘meaningful vote’ and possible seek to work through the details of the current deal in order to find the majority that Johnson needs to move forward. To Pound traders and foreign investors, this will look like general uncertainty which is naturally reflected as volatility. Committing to a particular course for a market steeped in such instability will be exceptionally risky. That kind of scenario will draw more speculators than steadfast investors, only compounding the situation. Beware trading GBPUSD this week. 

A Serious Escalation of the Global Trade War…Underappreciated

Despite efforts by the European Union’s trade delegation to negotiate a compromise, the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) moved forward with slapping hefty tariffs on certain EU imports. The White House will not be easily swayed with this push as it considers the effort to be sanctioned – at least partially – by the global community. The World Trade Organization (WTO) found that the US could pursue corrective measures against the EU to the tune of $7.5 billion for what it considers harm done through unfair subsidizations for the Europe’s principal airplane manufacturer, Airbus – never mind the group found the US guilty of similar practices in favor of Boeing, it just has yet to rule on the amounts that can be pursued. While the lack of ground the US is willing to negotiation is a general problem that the whole world is experiencing, the particular trouble for the EU is in the products that are being taxed. In addition to the expected 10 percent tariff on imported airplanes, the US has also imposed a 25 percent hit to certain agricultural products and there was also reports they were pursuing industrial goods as well (though that isn’t yet clear in the details). These unrelated industries to the initial dispute register as economic aggression that urges retaliation. 

Remarkably, despite what this situation would insinuate, the coverage around its unfolding has been particularly light. In part that is likely owing to more immediate concerns such as Brexit, the US-China stand off and regular warnings of economic lethargy. Just as crucial to the limited impact is the lack of retaliation from European officials. That is unlikely to last. In a best case scenario – short of an unexpected compromise – would be Europe waiting until the WTO rules on the notional amount it can pursue against the US for the Boeing finding. That could keep this additional threat to the already fading growth forecast at a simmer rather than rolling boil. Yet, there is considerable debate among European officials on how to act. Germany’s Finance Minister has urged his counterparts to hold off on retaliations to allow for negotiations to work and likely to avoid a high probability path of steady escalations that seems routine with the US. On the other hand, the EU’s Trade Minister warned before the official tariff start date that they would have “no alternative” but to take countermeasures if Washington wouldn’t deal.
 
If Europe moves to counter the US, risk trends and economy watchers will pick up on it readily. We may find some grey area should retaliation be held to what is considered like-for-like for industries unrelated to airplane manufacturing. If that is the case, the US may not be quick to cry foul and escalate, particularly when they are distracted by so many other issues nowadays. Alternatively, if they are spoiling for a fight and looking for a reason to spread their self-labeled righteous efforts to rebalance trade practices around the world, the Trump Administration could make another sharp response in a shock-and-awe approach. Ultimately, we will not be able to avoid that recession that seems to be lurking at the fringes if the two largest economies in the world decide to gouge the trade between them. 

EURUSD Launches a Rally, But From Where? 

There is a lot going on in the FX and global capital markets, so it is understandable that some significant movement in some of the less-trafficked corners of our charts goes overlooked. Yet, that doesn’t suit the EURUSD. The world’s most liquid exchange rate (and arguably asset) has accelerate a bullish reversal that began with the month. Technicians would recognize the move for being the strongest two-week advance in approximately 13 months. From there, the technical boundaries that we’ve overcome – like the 3-month descending trend channel – carry some weight of their own. But what makes this effort particularly remarkable in my estimation is the starting point. Through the end of September, the pair was trading at its lowest level in two-and-a-half years. Adding to the interest in the move is the context of a market that has proven remarkably stagnant. Sure, we were plumbing new lows, but the decline was coming in starts and fits with a very gradual descent which reflected well on the broad restraint this benchmark has exhibited for the past 17 months. Are we finally seeing volatility restored to a pair that has successfully avoided large swings for that long? 

To interpret the probability of a transitional period, we need to understand what has steered the market through its restrained routine thus far. Why has EURUSD been so controlled? While some believe this is an anchor born of two reserve currencies, I suspect that we are witnessing the confluence of multiple competing forces. Safe haven capacity, relative growth and now trade war implications are just a few of the more exceptional forces jostling these currencies. It is very likely that these matters take up a bigger role in their relative performance into the future. Yet, at present, the bullish reversal from EURUSD has a few interesting properties to perhaps highlight what is the most interesting matter at present. This past week, the Euro didn’t show a broad rally across its major counterparts and EURCHF in particularly made no effort to reinforce. Alternatively, the Dollar made a fairly broad retreat. Realization of trade war blow back, recognition of the struggling economic data or political uncertainty may all be contributing to the slide; but I think a more familiar catalyst is responsible: monetary policy. Through the end of the past week, the probability of a third consecutive rate cut from the Federal Reserve rose to 89 percent according to Fed Funds futures. That is a significant escalation from a week ago and up from little more than 20 percent a month ago. If this is indeed the root of this ground swell, thing should get more and more interesting as we approach the Fed’s October 30th meeting.